Mechanistic aspects of lignin degradation. Role of radicals and radical ions

Lucio, Pellacani Maurizio, D'Auria Raffaele, Saladin

The constructivist promise and regional integration: an answer to 'old' and 'new' puzzles. The South American case

The revival of regionalism represents an important trend in world politics. In this light, scholars of ‘new’ regionalism have called for the adoption of the ‘new regionalism approach’ (NRA) in order to capture the multidimensionality of a phenomenon viewed as qualitatively different from ‘old’ regionalism, transcend dominant theories of regional integration, and provide an interdisciplinary approach. However, while contemporary regionalism may indeed display new characteristics, the adoption of the NRA to understand regionalism is unwarranted. This paper argues rather that scholars concerned with the study of regionalism should turn their attention to the insights of social constructivism. Indeed, constructivism can help us move beyond the artificial old/new dichotomy and understand the puzzles surrounding both the emergence and evolution of regionalism. Drawing on constructivist contributions from the European ‘laboratory’, the paper examines the analytical purchase of the constructivist proposition that ideational factors play a crucial role in the emergence and evolution of regional integration. It investigates the purchase of this proposition in the case of regional integration in South America, focusing on the Southern Common Market (Mercosur)

Changes in the microsomal proteome of tomato fruit during ripening

The variations in the membrane proteome of tomato fruit pericarp during ripening have been investigated by mass spectrometry-based label-free proteomics. Mature green (MG30) and red ripe (R45) stages were chosen because they are pivotal in the ripening process: MG30 corresponds to the end of cellular expansion, when fruit growth has stopped and fruit starts ripening, whereas R45 corresponds to the mature fruit. Protein patterns were markedly different: among the 1315 proteins identified with at least two unique peptides, 145 significantly varied in abundance in the process of fruit ripening. The subcellular and biochemical fractionation resulted in GO term enrichment for organelle proteins in our dataset, and allowed the detection of low-abundance proteins that were not detected in previous proteomic studies on tomato fruits. Functional annotation showed that the largest proportion of identified proteins were involved in cell wall metabolism, vesicle-mediated transport, hormone biosynthesis, secondary metabolism, lipid metabolism, protein synthesis and degradation, carbohydrate metabolic processes, signalling and response to stress

Camalexin Quantification in Arabidopsis thaliana Leaves Infected with Botrytis cinerea

Phytoalexins are heterogeneous low molecular mass secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity produced in response to pathogen invasion attempts at the infection site and represent an important part of the plant defense repertoire. Camalexin (3-Thiazol-2′-yl-indole) is a known phytoalexin first detected and isolated in Camelina sativa, from which it takes its name, infected with Alternaria brassicae (Browne et al., 1991). Production of camalexin is also induced in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves by a range of biotrophic and necrotrophic plant pathogens (bacteria, oomycetes, fungi and viruses) (Ahuja et al., 2012) as well as by abiotic stresses, such as UV and chemicals (e.g. acifluorfen, paraquat, chlorsulfuron and α-amino butyric acid) (Zhao et al., 1998; Tierens et al., 2002). Camalexin originates from tryptophan and CYP79B2 and CYP71B15 (PAD3) are P450 enzymes that catalyze important steps in its biosynthetic pathway (Glawischnig, 2007). In this protocol the detection and quantification of camalexin produced in Arabidopsis leaves infected with the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea is described

Optimal Regulation Criteria for Building Heating System by Using Lumped Dynamic Models

Abstract Energy efficiency of buildings has gained an important role with respect to possible energy saving policy measures, mainly for space heating demand which represents the dominant energy end-use. The present contribution addresses the problem of estimating building heating energy consumptions by using numerical models able to simulate the dynamic interaction between the building and the heating system. A dynamic numerical code in the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) is developed to simulate both building and heating system and the influence of heating system regulation criteria on different parameters (mainly energy saving and internal comfort) is investigated in an optimization perspective

In vitro leaf-derived organogenesis and somaclonal variant detection in Humulus lupulus L

The exploitation of somaclonal variation potentially could be a valid strategy to overcome the depletion of hop intraspecific agrobiodiversity. To increase somaclonal variation induction, it is possible to resort to several strategies including a differentiated starting explant material such as leaves, roots and stems, an extended time in which cultures are maintained in vitro, and a wellbalanced cytokinin/auxin ratio. In this research, firstly, the influence of growth regulator type and concentration and the effect of the period of in vitro hop leaf culture (6, 12, and 18 wk) were investigated. Secondly, cytofluorimetric and Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses were carried out to verify the occurrence of somaclonal variation. Adventitious shoots were obtained in all media containing 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (except BAP at lowest concentration tested), with no influence detected by culture period. Mutants were detected among regenerants (16.8%) with more than half of the tetraploids obtained from medium containing the highest BAP concentration (35.55 mM). Mutants detected by RAPD analysis were independent of the medium composition and time in culture. A strong influence regarding explant was observed where nearly half of mutants obtained originated from cultured leaf tissues. Further studies are needed to characterize the field performance of mutants

Feministas en la red : Reflexiones en torno a las potencialidades y restricciones de la participación en el ciberespacio

El desarrollo vertiginoso de internet y las tecnologías infocomunicacionales a nivel mundial generó un entusiasmo inusitado en sectores feministas a principios de los años '90. Junto a artistas y creativas, las feministas activistas iniciaron un camino novedoso no sólo de inserción en el ciberespacio sino de subversión de los códigos antrocéntricos, como otrora lo hicieran en distintas áreas de la cultura y el campo comunicacional en su conjunto, no exento de tensiones y contradicciones. De la mano del ciberfeminismo, interesa revisar críticamente algunos debates actuales en torno de ciertas dimensiones privilegiadas de su acción política: las dificultades en el acceso a las tecnologías de información y comunicación (TICs) como brecha digital, las posibilidades para subvertir la identidad "femenina" tradicional y las distancias generacionales entre feministas en torno a apropiaciones de tecnologías digitales, actualizando debates que tienen una trayectoria considerable en el área comunicacional desde una perspectiva feminista.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la EducaciónInstituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociale

Comparison of the imaging performances for recently developed monolithic scintillators: CRY018 and CRY019 for dual isotope gamma ray imaging applications

The growing interest for new scintillation crystals with outstanding imaging performances (i.e. resolution and efficiency) has suggested the study of recently discovered scintillators named CRY018 and CRY019. The crystals under investigation are monolithic and have shown enhanced characteristics both for gamma ray spectrometry and for Nuclear Medicine imaging applications such as the dual isotope imaging. Moreover, the non-hygroscopic nature and the absence of afterglow make these scintillators even more attractive for the potential improvement in a wide range of applications. These scintillation crystals show a high energy resolution in the energy range involved in Nuclear Medicine, allowing the discrimination between very close energy values. Moreover, in order to prove their suitability of being powerful imaging systems, the imaging performances like the position linearity and the intrinsic spatial resolution have been evaluated obtaining satisfactory results thanks to the implementation of an optimized algorithm for the images reconstruction. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl